


The Saiyan Problem

by Xingshou



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angry Vegeta, Angst, Dad Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Frieza's a dick, Planet Namek, Power Dynamics, prison situation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:51:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18404405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xingshou/pseuds/Xingshou
Summary: Vegeta made a fatal mistake challenging Frieza. Now he's right back where he started, except now he's responsible for training Kakarot's brat to be a loyal soldier. Meanwhile, Goku, Bulma and Krillin do everything they can to try and get Gohan back..Diverges from the Planet Namek canon right before Frieza transforms.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... it's been a looong time since I've dabbled in fanfiction, so sorry if any of the tags are messed up or confusing, I'm still learning how this all works.  
> This is an AU where the story diverges right before Vegeta and Frieza have their first fight on Namek. Everything up until the dragon balls turning to stone is the same, and then... this happens. Knowing how Vegeta is, there will probably be some violence, and there will definitely be a bit of Vegebul down the road. Okay, enjoy!

Vegeta’s fists clashed with Frieza’s hands as the power between the two fighters blasted a crater around them. He had never thought he’d be able to be this equal with Frieza before, but the nonchalant look on the dictator’s face concerned him. The preoccupation proved to be a fatal mistake – Vegeta never saw the slam coming until he was crashing into a cliff-face. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Frieza coming in for the final blow.   
-

Vegeta woke with a start, face down in what looked to be a plain, white circular room. A peculiar room, as it seemed to have no doors or windows. He pushed himself up to his knees. Something was wrong. What had happened? He closed his eyes, trying to remember. That was right, that idiot bald man and Kakarot’s brat had stolen the dragon balls from him, and then they’d turned to stone…Frieza had shown up, but then what… 

He shot to his feet as he remembered. He’d challenged Frieza. He should be dead. Vegeta looked down at himself, trying to figure out why he wasn’t dead. Had he succeeded? No, that couldn’t be right, he’d surely remember that. Vegeta growled as he started to get frustrated. He powered up, throwing himself at the blank wall, meaning to explode right through it. He bounced off of it as if his powers were nothing. As if he were nothing. He let out a scream – just what the hell was going on? 

“Always dramatic as ever, Vegeta.” 

The Saiyan spun at the sound of the cold voice. He watched as a square door suddenly appeared on one of the walls, and Frieza stepped through. Once he was in, the door sealed up into solid wall again, leaving no indication it was even there. 

Vegeta was fast, but Frieza was faster. He easily smacked the Saiyan away as he leapt at him, sending Vegeta careening into the far wall. Again, Frieza was too fast – before Vegeta could gather another attack, Frieza flung circular beams of energy at him, too fast to see, but very easy to feel as they turned into solid rings at his neck, wrists, and ankles, trapping him against the wall. He struggled, but couldn’t get loose – they were too strong. 

“I’m disappointed,” Frieza sighed, “But quite frankly, not surprised. I could have simply killed you out there when you challenged me. Swatted you down like a fly. But I didn’t.” He grabbed Vegeta’s chin, forcing him to make eye contact. “Do you know why?” 

Vegeta didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. 

“Because as irritating as you are, you still have some use. I’ll admit I was surprised to find out there were survivors of your pathetic planet other than you and your band of idiots, but I suppose a conqueror of the Universe can’t always know everything that goes on. That will certainly change, now. In fact, it was quite a nice surprise once I realized I could use it to my advantage.”

The invisible door slid open once more, and Vegeta was startled to see one of Frieza’s henchmen toss Kakarot’s son into the cell. He was unconscious, and hit the floor with a limp thud. What was his name again? Whatever the boy’s name, Vegeta was unable to bring it to mind, because Frieza was talking again. 

“I was obviously wrong to fear the Saiyans at all. Impressive strength, yes, but I’ve been shown the absolute limits of your might and it wasn’t even enough to phase me. A few scratches, perhaps. Still, this one…” He gestured to the unconscious boy on the floor, “Managed to land a few hits that actually hurt a little. Maybe you weren’t bluffing when you mentioned he had untapped power. He seems young enough to be molded into a loyal soldier. ” Frieza stepped back and eyed Vegeta critically. “I obviously must have started with you when you were too old – too old to be taught to be truly loyal. I should have just obliterated you with the rest of your measly planet. But why not use resources when you have them.”

The energy rings restraining Vegeta disappeared, and he slumped to the ground. 

“You will be the boy’s trainer.” 

“What?!” Whatever Vegeta had been expecting, it wasn’t that. 

“There’s hardly anyone else in my army who will be able to effectively train a Saiyan without their power immediately being surpassed. That’s all you’re useful for, Vegeta.” 

“And if I refuse?” 

Frieza shrugged and pulled a ball of energy into his hand. “Then I kill you both.” 

Vegeta’s mind raced as options flipped through it. He would rather die than become master to his enemy’s brat, and a slave of Frieza’s army once more, but something else niggled at him. As Prince of All Saiyans, could he in good conscience let the last of the race be obliterated when he had an option to save it? Frieza was right about one thing. The boy was young enough to be mold-able. 

It took all of Vegeta’s willpower to bow his head before Frieza. 

“I accept.” 

The energy in Frieza’s palm disappeared. “Very reasonable of you. You two start tomorrow.” 

He turned and left, the invisible door sealing up behind him once more.   
-  
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Goku could only barely feel Gohan’s energy as he floated in the medical tank. It didn’t feel like it was slipping away like when he was hurt – it felt more like it was just getting farther away. Whatever that meant, it couldn’t be good. 

Shit, Goku thought, Vegeta’s energy is getting farther away too… what the hell is going on out there!? Gohan’s energy continued to slip farther away, and Goku made a decision. 

The blast rocked the ship as the tank holding Goku exploded, and he climbed out of the synthetic water that had been suspending him. He definitely felt weak, but he could stand, which was a hell of a lot better than when he’d gone into the tank. 

He took off, flying to where he thought the battle might be. Finally, he found a stronger energy signal he could lock onto – Krillin – and adjusted his direction.   
As soon as he started to get close he could see Krillin on the ground. Goku landed and knelt next to his friend, “Krillin, what happened?! Where’s Gohan?” 

“There!” Krillin said breathlessly, pointing to a spot behind Goku. He turned to look – a round spaceship was just barely visible, about to exit Namek’s atmosphere. “That Frieza guy beat the hell out of Vegeta. Gohan tried to stop it, but – Frieza took him too! He took them both! I’m sorry, Goku, I tried to stop them, but – “ 

Goku held up a hand. “It’s okay. They’re alive at least, I can feel their energy. Sort of.” As they watched, the ship disappeared into space. 

“What are we gonna do?” Krillin panicked. 

Goku looked up, narrowing his eyes at the spot where the ship had been. 

“We’re going to get them back. Where’s Bulma? We’re gonna need her help.” 

-  
Vegeta slammed his fists into the walls again and again. Whatever material Frieza had used to withstand a Saiyan’s power didn’t budge, but it still made him feel better to hit something. 

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to see his companion was stirring. Well that was just great. From what he’d seen on Namek so far, the boy was pathetic, not worthy of calling himself any type of Saiyan, half or otherwise. 

The boy sat up, getting to his knees. To Vegeta’s surprise, he didn’t cry or whine at all. He simply blinked and looked around, startling a bit when his eyes fell on Vegeta. 

“Where am I?” He asked. 

“On one of Frieza’s vessels. In one of the holding areas, I presume, although this one is new to me.” 

The boy’s eyes widened. “We’re in space?!”

“Yes.” 

“But what about –“ 

“No more questions!” Vegeta snapped. “You will speak when spoken to, Boy.” 

“It’s Gohan.” 

“Did I ask?” 

Gohan didn’t answer, instead looking sullenly away. Vegeta watched him curiously – maybe it was true, maybe this boy would be more amenable to challenges thrown at him than Vegeta was as a youth. 

Gohan kept eyeing him, and it was clear he was desperate to ask something. Vegeta rolled his eyes. “What?” 

“Where’s my dad? And Krillin? And –“ 

“How the Hell should I know?” Vegeta said. “They’re clearly not on this ship or you would sense their energy. We left Kakarot on Frieza’s scouting ship in that tank… if I’m correct, this is most likely one of his war vessels. If Frieza hasn’t found a use for them like he seems to have done for you, assume they are dead and move on.” 

Gohan fell silent again. Vegeta turned away, giving the wall another punch for good measure.   
-  
“The important thing is not to panic,” Bulma said, trying not to panic herself as she punched buttons on the console of Goku’s ship. The green Namekian child who had introduced himself as Dende stood with her, finishing his work on healing Goku. “If they didn’t leave the atmosphere that long ago, we should still be able to track their signature and catch up with them.” 

“But then what?” Krillin asked solemnly. “It’ll just be me and Goku against Frieza’s entire army.” 

“We’ll figure it out on the way,” Goku said. His eyebrows were pulled down, giving him the serious look he always got when he was ready for a fight. “We need to go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments everyone :) I'm gonna do my best to try to post at least once a week, but I do have a full time job and stuff so I might miss one here or there.

Frieza sat brooding in his throne room. He sat alone – he’d shouted enough at his henchmen that they’d scattered off somewhere to hide until called for. Imbeciles and cowards, the lot of them. He thumbed a button on the arm of his chair, and a screen hissed down from the ceiling. Another tap, and it leapt to life, showing him a crystal clear image of the cell he’d left Vegeta in. He’d let the Prince out eventually, of course, but Vegeta needed a harsh reminder of who was in charge. 

Frieza slid out of his chair and padded over to a drinks cabinet he kept nearby. He pulled out a bottle of wine, watching as the dark liquid filled the glass. The wine had been manufactured by a quaint little planet, and Frieza kept a few bottles for special occasions only, considering no more would ever be made thanks to his army. 

Taking Vegeta down a peg certainly constituted a special occasion. Frieza had suspected the prince was scheming behind his back, but to this level… 

The conqueror felt his blood begin to boil again as he remembered the wasted Dragon Balls. He gulped down the rest of his wine before his temper got the better of him. He needed to take his time with this particular problem. Rub in the humiliation as far as he could before he finally put Vegeta down for good. 

Another glance at the screen told him Vegeta and the boy hadn’t moved much – they seemed to be talking. Frieza wasn’t concerned with what they were talking about. If they were discussing rebellion, he’d already proven he could squash it easily. 

He was more concerned about the boy. Based on the few hits Frieza had taken from him, Vegeta really had been telling the truth about the youngster’s untapped powers. If that’s what he harbored at this age, his strength would be unimaginable with proper training. That was why it was imperative he gained the boy’s loyalty immediately – and Vegeta would be a perfect example of what happens to those who step out of line. 

Frieza shook his head. Damn Saiyans always seemed to be causing him problems. Well. Not anymore. He put down his wine glass and tapped his communicator to call a soldier to him. It was time to send Vegeta a message. 

-

Gohan yelped and flung himself out of the way of the energy beam. 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Vegeta snapped, pulling energy into his hand to go for another blast. 

“Me?! What are you doing?!” Gohan demanded, “You just started attacking!” 

Vegeta growled, letting the energy dissipate. “You’re a Saiyan. Saiyans need to take damage to get stronger. You’re going to have to be much stronger than this if you want to be able to –“ He stopped mid-sentence, listening. 

“What-“ 

“Shut up!” Vegeta snarled. “Somebody’s coming. Do that damn energy mask think you do before –“ 

The invisible door slid open, and one of Frieza’s soldiers stepped in. Vegeta wasn’t very familiar with this one, other than having seen him around a few times, but he knew his name at least. 

“Zancor,” Vegeta smirked, folding his arms. 

Zancor offered no other expression than vague disinterest. He was a round, almost frog-like man, whose armor was somehow ill-fitted, despite the fact it was supposed to conform to the wearer’s body. 

“Vegeta,” Zancor answered. “Frieza has requested that you and, uh, him,” he nodded to Gohan, “Be released and sent to the barracks.” 

Vegeta waited, but Zancor seemed to be finished. The frogman shifted uncomfortably as something flashed over Vegeta’s face. 

“Have you forgotten something, you rock-brained imbecile?” 

“Uh –“ 

“Did you suddenly suffer an aneurysm of the brain just now? That is the only explanation for you not using my proper title.”

Now Zancor seemed extra uncomfortable. “Frieza has requested we no longer use your title of Prince, as you are no longer worthy of it.” 

“Worthy of it?!” The force of Vegeta’s energy spike nearly sent Gohan flying. Vegeta didn’t waste a second, lashing out with a beam and neatly severing Zancor’s head from his body. “You’ve been deemed no longer worthy of your head,” Vegeta said as the headless body slumped to the floor. 

He turned on a heel to look at Gohan, who was staring in horror at the body. 

“What the hell are you staring at?” 

“You – you killed him.” 

“And?” Vegeta had had enough of these strange Earth-side Saiyans stating the obvious all the time. “He was insolent. He deserved to die. Now come on. Unless you enjoy being trapped in this room.” 

He strode off into the corridor, not bothering to see if Gohan followed. 

-

“Who designed this freaking thing?” Bulma complained as she pushed buttons on the spaceship’s console. She’d managed to get them into the air without much of a problem – the ship was actually a little simpler to operate than the one she, Krillin and Gohan had used to get to Namek. Still, her nerves were frayed, and it was starting to show. 

Krillin paused at her question. “Um, your dad?” 

“Shut up, Krillin,” Bulma snapped. “It was a rhetorical question.” 

“Ooo-kay, Bulma.” Krillin knew better than to keep pushing when Bulma got like this – instead he walked over to Goku, who was staring, stone-faced, out the window as they headed towards exiting Namek’s atmosphere. 

“So I guess hoping you’ve come up with some kind of brilliant plan where the two of us can take down all of Frieza’s army by ourselves is too much to ask for?” 

Goku allowed himself the barest of smiles at that, but he shook his head. “If we try to do it on strength alone, we won’t win. There’ll just be too many.” 

“Hey geniuses,” Bulma said, leaning against the wall, “Haven’t you ever heard of a stealth mission?” Goku and Krillin glanced at each other, unsure where she was going with this. 

She rolled her eyes. “Oh right, I forgot, you two have to share a brain cell between you.” 

She crossed the short space between them and pushed her finger into Krillin’s chest. “You’re wearing the armor, dumbass. If Frieza’s hordes are as big as they say, they’re getting new recruits every day. A new face won’t be strange to them. Once we catch up to Frieza’s ship, we’ll cloak this one, get you on, and you can pose as a soldier until you find Gohan. If we do it that way, you two might not even have to fight at all – don’t look so disappointed, Goku!” 

Goku held up his hands, “I’m not! It’s a good idea, Bulma. But we’re likely to run into Vegeta.” 

“Let’s hope not,” Bulma said, “But fine, if we do, you two having to fight him is better than having to fight an entire army.” 

Goku nodded slowly, then glanced at Krillin. “We better start training then. Just in case.” 

Krillin nodded. “Right.” 

Bulma watched them go, then sighed, going for the food stores. “You better still have some beer left on this thing, Goku,” she said to herself. “I need a drink.” 

-

Gohan hurried after Vegeta, trying to stick as close to the other Saiyan as possible. He didn’t necessarily like the Prince, but an enemy he knew was better than one he didn’t, and this place was full of ones he didn’t. 

Even though it was constantly referred to as a ship, Frieza’s war vessel seemed more like a giant, bustling city to Gohan. There were hundreds of aliens of different races passing them as they walked, all in the same uniform of the Frieza force. Some shot jibes at Vegeta, which he ignored, but most of the other soldiers simply gave him the same silent treatment he gave them. 

Gohan couldn’t make sense of the geography of this place, and he had no idea how Vegeta did it. They’d made several turns in the maze-like space, and to Gohan, it should have been a circle, but it didn’t seem to be. It was making him disoriented – and he was starting to feel a little sick. Vegeta didn’t say anything to him, except a few general commands to keep up. 

Finally, Vegeta stopped, causing Gohan to walk right into him. Vegeta didn’t comment on it, instead placing his palm on a pad nearby, causing a door to slide open. Gohan followed him through, then stopped as his jaw dropped in awe. 

It was the biggest room he’d ever seen in his life – another testament to the confusing layout of this vessel. If he squinted, he could just barely make out the other end of the room, where a dais seemed to be set up. The rest of the room was filled with long tables, which were all packed with even more alien races, eating or talking amongst themselves. 

Vegeta strode straight down the center aisle, making straight for the dais. Gohan followed. As they walked, conversations stopped, and eyes turned to them. It was intimidating, and Gohan cast his eyes down. 

“Keep your head up.” 

“Huh?” Gohan looked up to see Vegeta looking at him out of the corner of his eye as he walked. 

“You are a Saiyan,” Vegeta muttered, not breaking his stride. “You are better than all of this worthless trash combined, even if you are simply the off-spring of a low class warrior. Keep your head up, and make sure they know you’re better.” 

Gohan took a deep breath, then lifted his head and straightened his back, trying his best to look forward and not at the hundreds of aliens that could probably murder him where he stood. 

As they got closer to the dais, Gohan was able to see who was sitting on top of it – Frieza. Of course it was. His heart started to pound, earning him another withering look from Vegeta. He took a breath, trying to control it, but he had to admit that he was terrified. Finally, Vegeta stopped in front of the tyrant. 

“Why Vegeta,” Frieza said coldly, “How nice to have you back with us. But who’s this cowering behind you?” 

Vegeta reached behind and grabbed Gohan’s arm, dragging him so he was standing next to the older Saiyan instead. Frieza smiled. 

“Don’t be afraid, my boy. Come up here.” 

Gohan looked up at Vegeta, but he wasn’t giving any hints, staring straight ahead. Taking another deep breath, Gohan climbed the dais to stand directly in front of Frieza. 

“Oh yes, I can see a lot of potential in you,” Frieza smiled, gesturing to the chair next to him. “Have a seat.” Gohan sat. Frieza draped an arm around him, causing the boy to tense up. “Vegeta used to have a lot of potential, just like you,” Frieza told him. “But then Vegeta got cocky. Too spoiled, you know.” He leaned back, putting his legs up. “But he’ll learn his lesson soon. Go, Vegeta. My new young friend and I have much to discuss. I’ll call you back when I need you.” 

To Gohan’s distress, Vegeta didn’t even hesitate. He turned on a heel and strode away, out of the room, leaving Gohan in the middle of the hornet’s nest.


	3. Chapter 3

Gohan’s heart pounded in his chest for the first hour he sat next to Frieza at the head table, but as the time dragged on, he became less panicked and more confused. Frieza had barely acknowledged him, instead spending his time tearing into the meal. A plate had been given to Gohan, but he was too nerve-wracked to even pick at it. 

Unable to go anywhere, Gohan surveyed the room in front of him, trying to do his best to observe. Soldiers came and went as they pleased, grabbing plates from a long buffet-like table on one end of the room and sitting at long tables to eat. He wondered where Vegeta could have gone. In a ship as massive as this, with so many different soldiers’ energies, it was nearly impossible to lock on to him. Not that he would be any help. 

"Boy." Gohan jumped and looked up. Frieza stared down at him curiously. "Walk with me." 

\--

Apparently, Frieza's idea of 'walking' was sitting in a hovering chair, while Gohan hurried after him. Again, Frieza was silent for a long while, allowing Gohan to make more observations about the ship. None of the warriors who passed them by looked particularly friendly, and Gohan doubted he could appeal to any of them for help, even away from the watchful eyes of Frieza. No, he was going to have to get out of this one himself. Somehow. 

Frieza paused to look out a large, circular window. There was really nothing to look at in the vacuum of space, but Frieza kept his eyes on it anyway as he spoke. "Imagine my surprise to discover another Saiyan who survived the... unfortunate destruction of your planet. Quite surprising indeed." He looked Gohan up and down with a frown, "But who could your sire possibly be? Obviously not Vegeta... most likely Raditz, am I right?" 

"Um," Gohan said, but Frieza continued on, nodding in the assurance that his theory was correct. 

"Yes, it must have been Raditz. Who knew he had it in him... well, no matter. Would you like to live, Boy?" 

Gohan had been zoning out a little, staring into space, but he snapped back to attention at that. "Wh-what?" 

"I said, would you like to live? It's a simple question. You aren't a simpleton, are you? Would you like to live? Yes or no?" 

Gohan stared at Frieza, unsure what answer would keep him alive. Silence was the wrong strategy, though, and Frieza began to pull energy into his hand. "Too late."

The energy ball flew from Frieza’s fingers, and Gohan barely had time to put his arms up in a block. To his surprise, the attack wasn’t actually that strong – it bounced off his block and pinged down the hallway, exploding further down and resulting in some surprised screams from the soldiers. Frieza didn’t seem too concerned about that. In fact, he was smiling. 

“You are quite the scrapper, aren’t you? A lesser soldier would have at least tried to dodge.” 

Frieza moved off again, and Gohan hesitated, at least until Frieza glanced back to give him an annoyed look, and then he hurried to keep up again. 

“You’re far too young to have ever been on Planet Vegeta, and so it stands to reason that you are not too familiar with the so-called Prince, despite you two having been in close proximity on that damned backwater Namek. Am I right?” 

Again, he didn’t wait for Gohan to answer before continuing. 

“So, I feel it is my duty to tell you some things about Vegeta. He is ruthless, even more ruthless than I am, and he is not to be trusted. Anything that he tells you is a lie – he manipulates to get what he wants. You may find it strange that I requested he train you after hearing this, but training you against anyone other than another Saiyan would be useless.” 

Frieza appraised Gohan critically from his chair, “I sense a great strength in you, and I would like to be able to utilize it. If you don’t displease me, you may even be able to make it to Captain one day. Thousands of young boys just like you aspire to be Captain in the Frieza Force, and for that to happen, you must not show any loyalty at all to Vegeta. Understood?” 

Gohan nodded slowly, and Frieza held out a hand. “Good. Do anything you need to benefit from the training – cozy up to him, pretend to be his friend if you like, although good luck there – but anything he says must be immediately reported to me. If I find you’re holding things back, I will kill you. Understand?” 

Again Gohan nodded, and Frieza rolled his eyes. “Speak, Boy, you’re not a mute.” 

“I understand.” 

“Excellent.” Frieza smirked. “Now let’s go and have some fun.” 

\----

 

Vegeta stormed through the halls, ignoring the few warriors who crossed his path, and shoving those away who got too close. What exactly was Frieza’s plan? He hadn’t killed Vegeta, so clearly the tyrant planned to toy with him. His orders for the soldiers to no longer address him by his proper title was evidence of that. 

The supposed injustice didn’t bother him much. Frieza had never been respectful of his royal lineage anyway. What did bother him was the insignificance of it. Frieza was never one to punish insubordinates in any insignificant manner – quite the opposite. No matter how hard Vegeta thought about it, he couldn’t start to guess at Frieza’s plans, and it was making him pissed off and edgy. 

The only possible solution that he could think of was that Frieza thought having to train Kakarot’s boy would be the ultimate humiliation, but the mere existence of another Saiyan, let alone offspring, was nothing short of miraculous. Frieza was too smart to think merely putting him the role of teacher to a low-class warrior would be enough to break the Prince. So what the hell was he playing at? 

Vegeta paused outside the soldiers’ barracks, then shook his head and continued on. He didn’t need a bed now – he needed a training room. Whatever Frieza’s plans were, they had something to do with the boy. He’d seen the latent power that Vegeta had observed during the fight with Nappa so many months ago, and now he planned to use that power for himself. Or something like that. Vegeta stopped outside the training room door and palmed it open. 

If he played his cards right, he might be able to use the boy to his own advantage and still kill Frieza. He could still escape from this blasted so-called army. But to do that, he was going to have to be much, much stronger. 

He had only been training for two hours when a bird-like soldier whose name he didn't know entered, just barely avoiding being hit with a blast. Vegeta scowled at him. 

"What?" 

"Frieza wants to see you." 

\---

A few hours away, on the Capsule Corp ship, Krillin had just dodged a kick from Goku when the Saiyan suddenly lurched forward. Krillin hadn't been expecting it, and apparently neither had Goku, because they collided and went head over heels in opposite directions. 

Krillin sat up, rubbing his head. "Geez, Goku, I know I said not to hold back, but you could've at least given me a little warning..." 

Goku sat on the floor, looking bemused. "That wasn't me." 

The ship suddenly lurched again, sending various supplies sliding across the floor. Bulma tapped on the control panel, “Guys, I think there’s a problem with the –“   
Before she could finish, there was a bang that rocked the whole ship. A moment later, black smoke belched out of a vent near the floor. Bulma winced. “A problem with the engine.” 

“Can you fix it?” Goku asked. 

Bulma knelt down to take the vent off the floor, “I think so, but I need to see where the actual problem is coming from, and see how it affects the control panel … but I can’t do both at once. Krillin, do you think you could go down there with a flashlight and tell me what’s happening while I monitor the panel?” 

“Sure,” Krillin nodded, sliding off the Frieza Force armor breastplate and setting it aside so he would have more room to move around. He accepted the flashlight from Bulma, and slid down into the vent. 

“Goku, keep an eye on him,” Bulma instructed, while she went to the controls. She tapped one, “Krillin, is anything happening down there?’ 

“No, nothing.”

“There should be two circle-like gears. Does it look like one fizzled out?” 

“Hold on…” Krillin’s footsteps echoed on the metal as he moved around. 

“Hmm…” Bulma inspected the controls, “Oh! Maybe it’s a burnout problem…” 

“Hey, Bulma?” Krillin called, “I think I can see something sparking?” 

“What?” Bulma called back. 

“He said –“ Goku started, but suddenly there was a strange metallic creaking, and then a huge boom and more black smoke belched out of the hole, followed by a scream from below. A moment later, flames licked up from the vent. 

“Krillin!” Goku yelled. 

“Shit!” Bulma grabbed a fire extinguisher from its emergency holster and quickly sprayed the fire down, peering into the hole, “Krillin! Krillin, are you okay?” 

There was no answer, but Goku wasn’t waiting for one – he was already scrambling down into the vent. “Got him!” he said after a moment, and Krillin’s unconscious body appeared at the top as Goku tried to push him through. 

Bulma grabbed his arms and pulled the rest of the way, laying him out on the floor while Goku climbed out and leaned over him. 

“He’s alive,” Goku said, seeing Bulma’s face. “I think he got banged up pretty bad, though… and I don’t have any more senzu beans.” 

“As long as he’s alive…” Bulma said softly, “We can treat the burns and everything. I hope he doesn’t have a concussion…” 

An incessant beeping came from the control panel, and Goku looked up. “What’s that?” 

Bulma’s eyes widened, and she ran to the panel, looking it over. “It’s really bad timing, is what it is! Look!” 

Goku’s eyes followed to where Bulma was pointing. Sure enough, mere miles away from the Capsule Corp ship, was Frieza’s war ship. 

They had finally caught up. 

Goku leapt to his feet. “Good! We can go and get Gohan, and then get Krillin home right away!” 

Bulma shook her head, “Remember our stealth mission plan. Vegeta would sense you the minute you stepped foot on the ship, and I don’t think even you can take on all those soldiers, Vegeta, and Frieza all by yourself.” 

“So what do we do?” Goku stared at her, “Krillin’s down, he can’t go anymore! And I’m not just leaving Gohan…” 

“By using our brains, Goku,” Bulma said, walking over to the discarded breastplate and picking it up. “They don’t bother with low power levels, right? They barely even show up at all? I doubt they’d even give them notice.” 

She turned and gave Goku a smile, holding the breastplate up to herself. “Say hello to Frieza’s newest recruit.”


End file.
